ARPU vs ARPPU in dating, and why the gap matters
Dating apps live on a small slice of paying users. Mixing up ARPU and ARPPU is the fastest way to overspend on growth.
Reviewed by an operator. Last updated June 27, 2026. Led by founder and CEO Bill Alena, backed by a team of industry experts with over 100 years of online dating experience between them.
ARPU and ARPPU sound interchangeable. In dating they are not.
The definitions
ARPU is total revenue divided by total users. ARPPU is total revenue divided by paying users only.
Why the gap is so wide in dating
A typical paid dating app converts 2 to 5 percent of installs into paying subscribers. That means ARPU is one twentieth to one fiftieth of ARPPU. Treating them as the same overstates the value of the average install by a large factor.
How to use each number
Use ARPPU when you size LTV, set acquisition budgets, or model unit economics. Use ARPU when you talk to investors about total addressable revenue or when you compare yourself to a public competitor.
Run the math yourself
Dating App Unit Economics Calculator
Plug in your real numbers to size LTV, CAC payback, and the LTV to CAC ratio. Defaults reflect typical paid dating apps.
List price the paying user is billed each month.
Share of installs or signups that ever pay. Dating norm: 2 to 5 percent.
Share of paying users who cancel each month. Dating norm: 15 to 25 percent.
Blended cost to acquire one paying subscriber, including paid media and incentives.
- ARPPUper paying user, monthly
- $19.99
- ARPUacross all users, monthly
- $0.60
- Avg paying lifetime1 / monthly churn
- 5.6 mo
- LTV (gross)ARPPU x lifetime
- $111.06
- LTV : CAC3 : 1 is the working floor
- 4.44 : 1
- CAC paybackmonths to recover CAC
- 1.3 mo
This is an estimate. Real numbers depend on cohort behavior, gateway fees, refunds, and chargebacks. Use it to pressure-test your model, not as a forecast.
Key takeaways
- ARPU underestimates a paying user. ARPPU describes them honestly.
- Acquisition decisions belong to ARPPU.
- Use ARPU only for top-line modeling.
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